(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a storage box under the seat of a motorcycle, and in particular relates to a storage box illuminator and the wiring arrangement therefor.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Some recent motorcycles have a storage box which is arranged under an openable seat to accommodate helmets and small luggage.
Of these, some known storage boxes are provided with an illuminator on the side wall thereof for use at night.
A conventional storage box 103, as shown in FIG. 1, is arranged under seat 102 attached to the bodywork frame, designated at 6, in the rear of the motorcycle, and forms its storage portion with the underside of the seat as a lid.
The seat 102 has a seat hinge portion 18 at the front end thereof with respect to the motorcycle""s travelling direction while one end of a gas damper 25 is attached to the approximately center of the seat. The other end of this gas damper is engaged with bodywork frame 6 so that the seat can open upward pivoting about the seat hinge portion 18.
The storage box 103 is arranged over bodywork frame 6 extended to the rear and has an illuminating lamp 104 on its interior wall on the front side with respect to the motorcycle""s travelling direction.
Thus, this arrangement makes it possible to reliably keep luggage 30 in the storage box and enables the user to put the luggage in and take out at night with the help of illuminating lamp 104.
However, in this conventional storage box, when a piece of luggage is put the luggage may shade the illuminating lamp so that it cannot illuminate the inside of the storage box.
In view of the above problem, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an illuminator in the storage box of a motorcycle which is able to illuminate the inside of the storage box without being shaded by the luggage therein.
The present invention has been devised to attain the above object and is configured as follows:
In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, a storage box illuminator for a motorcycle in which a storage box having a top opening is arranged under the seat so that the bottom plate of the seat can cover the opening in an openable and closable manner, includes: an illuminating device for illuminating the inside of the storage box; and a depressed portion which is formed on the underside of the seat bottom plate of the seat and indented upward approximately as deep as the height of the illuminating device, and is characterized in that the illuminating device is arranged inside the depressed portion so that the illuminating device can illuminate the inside of the storage box when the seat is set open.
In accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, the storage box illuminator for a motorcycle having the above first feature further includes: wiring cord holders provided on the undersurface of the seat bottom plate for leading the wiring cord from the illuminating device to the outside of the storage box; and a sealing element arranged on the underside of the seat bottom plate opposing the opening of the storage box, and is characterized in that the wiring cord is arranged on the underside of the seat covering the storage box in an openable and closable manner and extended along the wiring cord holders, and a pair of passage holes are formed in the seat bottom plate at positions on the inner and outer sides of the opening of the storage box so that the wiring cord is arranged passing through these passage holes to bypass the sealing element.
In accordance with the third aspect of the present invention, the storage box illuminator for a motorcycle having the above first feature is characterized in that:
the seat has a seat hinge portion at the front part thereof and is supported on the bodywork by the seat hinge portion so that the seat can open and close the opening of the storage box by being pivoted vertically;
the wiring cord is arranged from the illuminating device to the power supply on the bodywork, passing by the seat hinge portion at the front part of the seat, and is comprised of a body-side wiring part extended from the power supply on the body side and a seat-side wiring part arranged from the illuminating device on the underside of the seat bottom plate along the seat bottom plate so that they can be joined and disjoined at a joining portion; and
the joining portion between the body-side wiring part and seat-side wiring part of the wiring cord is disposed at the seat hinge portion on the bodywork side.
In accordance with the fourth aspect of the present invention, the storage box illuminator for a motorcycle having the above second feature is characterized in that:
the seat has a seat hinge portion at the front part thereof and is supported on the bodywork by the seat hinge portion so that the seat can open and close the opening of the storage box by being pivoted vertically;
the wiring cord is arranged from the illuminating device to the power supply on the bodywork, passing by the seat hinge portion at the front part of the seat, and is comprised of a body-side wiring part extended from the power supply on the body side and a seat-side wiring part arranged from the illuminating device on the underside of the seat bottom plate along the seat bottom plate so that they can be joined and disjoined at a joining portion; and
the joining portion between the body-side wiring part and seat-side wiring part of the wiring cord is disposed at the seat hinge portion on the bodywork side.
According to the present invention, since the depressed portion is formed on the underside of the seat bottom plate and indented upward approximately as deep as the height of the illuminating device, the illuminating device is able to illuminate the inside of the storage box without its being shaded by the luggage therein. Further, since the illuminating lamp will not come into contact with the luggage kept inside the storage box, the illuminating lamp will not be damaged.
Since the wiring cord to the illuminating device is arranged on the underside of the seat covering the opening of the storage box in an openable and closable manner, along the wiring cord holders provided on the undersurface of the seat bottom plate to be extended to the outside of the storage box, it is possible to replace the electric interconnection and cord without disassembling the seat, hence leading to improvement in working efficiency. Further, in a storage box having a sealing element provided along the periphery of the opening opposing the seat bottom plate, since passage holes are formed in the seat bottom plate at positions on the inner and outer sides of the opening of the storage box so that the wiring cord is arranged passing through these passage holes to bypass the sealing element, it is possible to create electric interconnection without any loss of sealability of the storage box.
Since multiple wiring cord holders for guiding the cord are arranged on the seat bottom plate, it is possible to hold the cord with a simple and inexpensive structure, without the necessity of providing any fastening components separate from the seat bottom plate.
Further, in a configuration in which the seat has a seat hinge portion at the front part thereof and is supported on engaged with the bodywork by the seat hinge portion so that the seat can open and close the opening of the storage box by being pivoted vertically, the wiring cord is arranged from the illuminating device to the power supply on the bodywork passing by the seat hinge portion at the front part of the seat, and is comprised of a body-side wiring part extended from the power supply on the body side and a seat-side wiring part arranged from the illuminating device on the underside of the seat bottom plate along the seat bottom plate so that they can be joined and disjoined at a joining portion as the seat is attached to and detached from the bodywork. Therefore, the interconnection can be easily assembled into and disassembled from the bodywork. Further, since the interconnection can be assembled and disassembled with the illuminating lamp mounted, this configuration contributes to improvement in the working efficiency and maintenance.
The joining portion is larger in size yet lower in strength compared to the other wiring components. The arrangement of the joining portion at an accessible site such as a position on the bodywork frame, etc., near the seat hinge portion provides reliable attachment, which can be made with a simple structure compared to its attachment to the seat bottom plate.